Heating oil thieves hit rural communities

HOMEOWNERS WHO use oil to heat their homes need to be on their guard against a new crime wave - in oil theft. Police have reported a spate of thefts of heating oil from mostly rural properties, according to BoilerJuice.com, a home-oil price-comparison website.

Steve Wragge, 42, of Southwell, near Nottingham, is one of the rising number of victims of thieves cashing in on booming oil prices. He filled up his home tank with 3,000 litres in December last year at a cost of £1,300. Steve says: 'That amount normally lasts us the year. Two or three weeks later we woke up to a very cold house and were dumbfounded to find the tank's gauge showed empty. We thought there might have been a leak but there was no sign.'

In fact, the Wragges' tank had been drained by crooks. Steve says: 'We claimed on our insurance. They paid out in just a couple of weeks. Unfortunately, oil prices had risen again and we had to pay £400 more when we refilled.' They have now installed a CCTV camera overlooking their tank.

Rural insurance specialist NFU Mutual says an even bigger crime epidemic is theft of diesel fuel from farms, with claims doubling in the past three years. Spokesman Tim Price says: 'Diesel is more expensive than home oil and therefore more valuable to thieves. Farmers also tend to have the tanks near the front of their properties, [making them] easier to access.' He adds: 'Many people now put padlocks on their valves, but thieves just break them off - which can cause extra spillages.'